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Century Aluminum Assessing Helguvik Smelter Financing Options

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Century Aluminum Co. (CENX) said late Tuesday it is assessing its financing options for the first phase of its Helguvik smelter project in Iceland, which saw construction halt as the global economic downturn took its toll on the banking sector.

"We are presently assessing our financing options for the project's first phase," said company President and Chief Executive Logan Kruger.

"In addition, we are working with the key constituencies in Iceland to satisfy the requirements for a full restart; toward that end, in August we signed an Investment Agreement with the government of Iceland," he added.

The principal aim of the agreement is to secure certain stability within the legal and operational environment of the aluminum plant, which is a prerequisite for completing the financing of the project.

On Sept. 11, Century's Icelandic subsidiary Nordural said it had appointed BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR), Societe Generale SA (SCGLY) and ING Bank NV to serve as exclusive structuring banks for financing the construction of Helguvik. The banks will lead the effort to raise project financing from the international debt markets.

-By Andrea Hotter, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9413; andrea.hotter@ dowjones.com

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